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Fostering ’special relations’ between Britain and Bangladesh

On a bright sunny morning recently, an ebullient Anwar Choudhury, departing British High Commissioner in Bangladesh, talked to Syed Badrul Ahsan, Editor, Current Affairs, The Daily Star. The conversation, as the following article shows, covered a wide range of issues and brought forth Choudhury's insights into life, diplomacy and politics in Bangladesh and outside it —-
FOUR years ago, when he arrived in Dhaka to assume the responsibilities of Britain's High Commissioner to Bangladesh. Anwar Choudhury instantly turned into a media personality in local circles. The reasons were only too obvious. 1 Ie was a Briton with a Bangladeshi background, coming back to his parent country as the foremost diplomat of his adopted country. He aroused curiosity, naturally, and everywhere he went he found himself looked upon as a celebrity, or close to being one.
Four years on. as he prepares to go back home to the United Kingdom, Anwar Choudhury remains the focus of the media and, therefore, broad public attention here in Bangladesh.
His has been a refreshing, vibrant presence, given not just his background but also, and more importantly, the key role he has played in developing relations between Dhaka and London during his tenure as High Commissioner. In recent times, the high profile visits of Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith have only underlined the assertive diplomacy Choudhury has epitomised as High Commissioner here. Besides, the recent Downing Street meeting between Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has added to Choudhury’s credibility as a man able to produce results.
How does Anwar Choudhury feel now that he prepares to leave Bangladesh? Choudhury's answer is unambiguous. During his time, he notes, there has been a transformation in relations between Britain and Bangladesh. Indeed, he does not hesitate to describe the links as a special relationship, a point that cannot but have one hark back to the old matter of the special ties that bind the UK with the United States.
Choudhury offers clear reasons behind his assessment. He has, says he, had the cooperation of what he calls an outstanding team, British as well as local staff, at the High Commission. These four years have been a time when the British mission has established itself in a leading diplomatic position in Bangladesh. But, of course.
Choudhury would like to think it has all been in line with the larger task of setting a new tone in his country’s international policy.
Leading by example
The conversation moves on to the matter of the emphasis placed of late on climate change by the British government as well as the Bangladesh authorities. How does the High Commissioner relate the environment to the larger issue of development in Bangladesh? He prefers to look at the subject from a wider perspective.
Climate change, he thinks, is as much an environmental problem as it is a global strategic threat It is necessary, therefore, for the political leadership worldwide to coalesce around a plan to deal with the threat, especially since the level of gas emissions as are being noticed now cannot be sustained by the world, particularly by developing nations such as Bangladesh.
"We have to lead by example," notes Choudhury, clearly referring to the role Britain can play in rolling back the threat. He points out that the mistakes made so far in the environment arena cannot be repeated. Hopefully, the upcoming conferences in The Hague and Bali will come forth with more decisive measures, those that will strengthen Kyoto, in restoring a balance in the situation.
Choudhury comes back to the stresses and strains exercised on Bangladesh by the global environmental threat. Of particular worry is the two-pronged danger confronted by the country: the melting Himalayas in the north and a rising Bay of Bengal in the south. The implication cannot be missed. Environmentally, Bangladesh is caught between a rock and a hard place. ’ 1
Freaky weather, as the British envoy chooses to call it, is another danger. It may seem like science fiction, but it is real, he notes. And any one of these threats will be devastating for the country. It makes sense, therefore, for Bangladesh to be given every degree of support as it takes upon itself a leadership role in the battle against environmental dangers.
"It has a moral high ground (to play such a role)," asserts
Choudhury, "because it was not responsible for the making ol the crisis." But here he serves a caveat. Merely because Bangladesh has not been responsible for the gathering environmental gloom, it should not cast itself in the role of victim. "It must take charge." And that, Choudhury thinks, can come from efforts towards dredging rivers and constructing stronger, more durable, shelters, houses and embankments.
He points out that his government has undertaken a $60 million project on tackling climate change in Bangladesh, a central feature of which is the building of model villages with climate-friendly infrastructure.
English opens doors
Has frustration ever come into his assessment of conditions in this country? Anwar Choudhury is frank about his feelings. He finds here, from experience, people more discussion-prone than action-oriented. Which, of course, sets the trend for a discussion of how the High Commissioner sees the role of the English language in bringing Bangladesh closer to the global mainstream.
Choudhury is emphatic about the need for people in Bangladesh to develop skills in the language in order to be able to relate to the world outside its frontiers. "English must not be seen in the box of another language," he asserts, but as the opening of doors to jobs and to developing a knowledge-based society.
He underlines the fact that the British government is on its way to launching a $100 million project geared to the teaching of English in this country. An essential component of the program will be a transmission of English language lessons to all schools in Bangladesh. He notes, and one cannot but agree with him, that with the internet explosion as it is, English has today turned out to be a tool for development. "If you don't have English," he says rather bluntly, "you are shut out." And one way of promoting the growth and expansion of English here would be for the media, especially the English speaking part of it, to lend their support to the endeavour. The conversation veers round to the question of madrassa education. Britain's departing High Commissioner makes hardly any bones about his feelings on the issue. He notes that at this point 64,000 madrassas operate in the country, but these institutions have essentially contributed to the growth of poverty owing to the inability of their graduates to come to terms with the real world of employment and earnings.
It is his belief that children in Bangladesh, coming as they do from poor backgrounds, deserve to be provided with minimal education in order to come by minimal opportunities. If such provisions are not there, "we simply cheat these children."
He carries the argument forward. For the madrassas to come level with standard education systems, a minimal change in the curriculum, in such areas as die sciences, is called for. The future, otherwise, will be extremely bleak. The madrassa system, according to Choudhury, is in need of drastic reforms, and civil society in Bangladesh must engage in thorough discussions on it. He states, for good measure, that reforms of the kind he suggests entail real, honest changes, and particularly through developing die efficiency and capabilities of teaching staff at the madrassas.
The High Commissioner touches on his government's role in developing the mainstream education sector. As much as $100 million has streamed into primary education, a lot of it through Brae. He does not appreciate the fact that schools often look like sheds, which is why it is important that good infrastructure facilities be made available in the field of primary education. He observes: "Education gets a serious look (from the British government)." He builds on the thought: formal schools in Bangladesh should also be taking up the matter of providing meals to the children they seek to educate.
"Afghanistan comes and finds you"
The conversation then takes a radical new turn, moving from education to terrorism. Anwar Choudhury echoes sentiments that have lately been heard across the world — that terrorism is a global scourge rather being Bangladesh-specific. And the new dimension that has come into it is an injection of religion by those who would pursue their violent
goals through banking on the gullibility of the faithful. "There are good Muslims,” says Choudhury. And then, he notes, there are bad ones too. And haven't the elements employing Islam to justify their destructive activities killed more Muslims than any other people?
That sounds like a good query, but point out to the High Commissioner that the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan may actually have emboldened religious fanatics to branch out into wider areas. Does western policy over these two nations bear any responsibility for the menace? Choudhury's response is short and crisp: the interventions in Baghdad and Kabul may have complicated die issue, but that was not the intention. And then comes a bit of reflection. The problem, as he secs it, is that if Afghanistan is not handled, "Afghanistan comes and finds you." In other words, it is hugely necessary that terrorism be contained at its source. Besides, "there are some things worth fighting for," he notes. The pockets of darkness, as he calls them, cannot be left as they are.
The four Ps
Global terrorism, says Anwar Choudhury, will be defeated. "Our approach is to treat it as a crime," he adds. But, of course, he and his government also happen to be listening to those with the kind of grievances that might, unless addressed fast, lead to a diffusion of terrorism. The British government. he takes pains to put it across, has adopted a four-pronged approach to tackling the terrorism menace. They are the Four Ps:
• Preventing terrorism through winning hearts and minds, basically through refashioning foreign policy and communicating with Islamic scholars;
• Pursuing terrorists through locating their hideouts and nabbing their leading figures;
• Protecting people through providing foolproof security at airports, railway and bus terminals, and all other public places;
• Preparing for eventualities through making sure that, in the event of tragedy, such essential services as the fire brigade, ambulances, et cetera, are on stand-by.
The British envoy points out that a similar strategy aimed at dealing with terrorism is in the works within the Bangladesh government. He is not ready, though, to lull himself or others into the belief that terrorism will go away any
time soon. It might be ten years before the positive results of action against the danger make themselves evident, he says in a matter of fact tone.
Five-tier immigration
The wide-ranging conversation takes in varied subjects as it progresses. Immigration, ever an issue with South Asians, especially Bangladeshis settled, or hoping to settle, in the United Kingdom, concerns the High Commissioner as it does anyone else. As much as 10 percent of the population in the UK, he says, comes from immigrant communities. And they add to the multiculturalism, which Britain celebrates as part of its growing diversity today. And yet, in its national interest, the UK has moved to tighten its procedures for immigration.
The High Commissioner explains the five-tier immigration process already set in motion by his government, taking care to explain, however, that the step has been taken to smoothen the movement of people to Britain and, at the same time, ensuring that no loopholes remain that will allow unauthorised entry into the country
No meddling, only active diplomacy
The discussion veers round, or back, to Bangladesh — a country with which Anwar Choudhury has developed a deep attachment. His comments, as also those of other western diplomats, on Bangladesh's politics have provoked criticism in certain quarters in Dhaka. Is the charge of interference or meddling in the country's affairs one of substance? The High Commissioner does not think so. "It's your country," he says more than once. Its politics is, therefore, a preoccupation for its politicians and people.
But then he hastens to add that what foreign diplomats have been doing here is engage in active diplomacy. He explains the reason: diplomats whose countries take keen interest in Bangladesh's future will have a problem with rigged elections, which is why Choudhury and his peers at the other missions in Dhaka have been candid with their views. All this question of interference, he avers, is one of perception. He has a word of advice for those who raise the interference question: stop blaming others for your problems, for such blame amounts to hypocrisy
and it is unfair.
Given his experience of the last four years, it is his conviction that Bangladesh can become a stronger country. The question is put to him: does he believe that the general elections promised for the end of this year will go ahead? "Absolutely," he replies. Is that his feeling? "It's not. It is based on evidence," says he. But he is unwilling to comment on the role the incarcerated Sheikh Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia might play in the upcoming electoral campaign, or on their political future. He underlines the British government's position, though, that due process must be applied in the prosecution of cases relating to the two leaders.
A new Britain
The talking session is rounded-off by an assessment of Britain’s role, under Gordon Brown, in the global community. Anwar Chowdhury points out that it is the same government operating along the lines of the same policies, albeit with new personalities at the helm. There are, though, some new priorities that the new prime minister
has sought to highlight as part of his government's approach to tackling some crucial issues.
Gordon Brown seeks, as it were, global solutions to such maladies as poverty and conflict and has, at the same time, undertaken a program to strengthen institution building to this end in the affected regions. Anwar Choudhury lists G8, Darfur, the Commonwealth, Nato, the World Bank and the IMF, besides a whole range of other areas he says the British government will emphasise from here on. It is a new Britain, one that Choudhury believes will be great again, and for new, good reasons that remains.the goal of those now running the show in London.
And Choudhury should know. Once back in London, he will be working closely with 10 Downing Street as director for Britain's policy on, and relations with, international institutions. The departing High Commissioner has his worldview in place as he prepares for his new role.
The British High Commissioner in conversation with Syed Badrul Ahsan. Editor, Current Affairs, The Daily Star.